Ultimate themes that matter…

I love this image taken in the fall of 2008 on a lookout at Homer Watson Park overlooking the Grand River. I was initially trying to remake some magic captured by another local photographer in the same spot. What I initially viewed as a failure to do so turned out to be a brilliant success as I was later asked if the image could be used for a GRCA trailer and a GRCA Annual Report.

This image, of which I am very proud, resides in the archives at The NewYork Institute of Photography. When submitted as a first term project, my instructor, Elinor Stecker-Orel, was quite taken with the image and its use of motion while retaining a certain clarity and vibrant color.

This is another shot from my days on film, a time when I feel that shooting images was considerably less technologically involved. I could concern myself more about composition and capturing light then worrying about histograms and white balance.

On a morning walk in early summer I happened to catch a glimpse of this lone dew drop hanging precariously from the top of a single blade of grass. Ample side lighting and a large aperture allowed me to make this blade stand out against a blurred background of other grasses. Despite being a hand-held image I managed to capture a great deal of clarity and definition–enough that you can actually see the street-scape clearly inverted the dew drop.

This image was taken at what we in Waterloo Region affectionately call "Mount Trashmore", an old heap of a reclaimed garbage dump. The landfill was relocated in the 1970's and the surrounding area built up to what is now known as Country Hills, Laurentian Hills and Glencairn. The landfill was covered and eventually naturalized into what is now the cherished McLennan Park.

For decades sledders braved the winter chill to tackle the regions most popular tobogganing site, and in the warmer seasons, joggers have used the steep slopes to kick their workout into overdrive. The hills geographic location and higher altitude relative to the surrounding area also make it the best place in Kitchener-Waterloo to fly a kite. The community has long since embraced "Trashmore" as their own.

In recent years there has been multi-phased construction projects at the park to make it an official community recreation area. With the addition of Ottawa Street access and a parking lot, the park has become accessible to all. Park benches, landscaping and even a regrading of the sledding slope were some of the first signs of a revitalization, an ambitious and sophisticated bike park soon followed.

And now, land to the immediate north of the giant hill is being developed to accommodate a skatepark, accessible play-structure, splash pad, washroom building, beach volleyball, basketball courts, picnic shelter and more.

A very early morning, mist laden image captured with a group of photo enthusiasts from Waterloo Region. The spot was Kiwanis Park situated on the Grand River just before sunrise, before the suns rays could burn off the morning mist .

I enjoy the cool, muted colors, typical of an open shade composition, but I especially enjoy the effect the band mist has on the background, rising up but not quite making it to the tree tops. And of course I really like how the whole scene is mirrored, yet neatly compressed in the reflection in the water.

Adam Merrifield is not only a web designer and theme designer, he is also an accomplished wedding photographer. Despite his best efforts to retire from wedding photography in 2005, Adam will still accept a half dozen wedding shoots per season.

If time permitted, Adam could fill an entire season, but if he did, you wouldn't be reading about this, because he would be too busy to make themes anymore (which is infinitely less stressful and takes less effort).

RapidWeaver blog plugin

I’ve seen the blog page improve by leaps and bounds in my years of developing for RapidWeaver. It’s probably been one of the most actively developed page styles in the RapidWeaver arsenal.

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